Cantilevered shelf and supporting means

ABSTRACT

An easily mountable and repositionable cantilevered shelf supported from the rear wall of a commercial refrigerator or freezer cabinet on two vertical support members secured inside on the rear wall. Each support member has longitudinal flanges projecting forward from an elongate vertical base fastened to the rear wall and formed with front channels facing toward the base part, opposed flanges of the channels of the two support members having notches along their length. Shelves are made from rod and wire construction with a solid cross bar across the rear upper shelf edge. The ends of the cross bar project laterally as short trunnions and hook into matched pairs of notches in the facing channel flanges of each support. Rearwardly projected lower rods incline downwardly and rearwardly on each side of the shelf and their ends abut against the mid-portions of the support channels so the shelf can be fulcrumed about the abutments to lock the trunnion ends of the cross bar into the associated, rearward directed, facing notches.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to cantilevered shelves made from rods andwires, and was developed particularly for use in commercialrefrigeration cabinets and the like. It is a shelf supported only at therear end and is capable of supporting heavy loads yet provides for rapidrepositioning on vertical support members.

Most prior art cantilevered shelf constructions incorporate twobrackets, one secured on each side of the shelf and having at their rearends attachment means enabling removable attachment to vertical supportbrackets. The rear attachment means on the shelf normally include upperand lower components, the upper one being hooked in some manner to acooperative component on the vertical bracket and the lower portion ofthat rear shelf bracket abutting the vertical bracket. Basically such aprinciple is utilized in most cantilevered shelf constructions and canbe found in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,353 to J.McLean; U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,634 to M. A. Oztekin; U.S. Pat. No.3,194,528 to R. G. Chesley; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,251 to C. B.Rollins, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,134 to R. J. Chesley; and U.S. Pat.No. 3,627,247 to George Krikorian. The foregoing patents all utilizewire shelves with some forms of flat plate attachment brackets whichincludes a hook inserted into a forwardly opening slot in a verticalsupport rail and a portion of the bracket plate below the hook portioncooperates with the vertical support rail in an abutment relationshipwhich, in some cases, aids in locking and supporting the shelf. Inaddition a shelf construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,467 to L.G. Dutchburn utilizing an upper lateral rod portion bent up from andintegral with a perimetral bent rod defining the shelf. That upperlateral rod portion enables the shelf to be hooked into the front sideof support brackets over forwardly projecting complementary hooksections in a forwardly directed flange of the vertical supportbrackets. A second cross rod below the bent up rear lateral rod portionserves as the abutment part of Dutchburn's shelf.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention has been developed primarily for use in commercialrefrigeration equipment and the cantilevered form of shelf has beenselected because it eliminates supporting front posts, multiple shelfclips and customized widths of various dimension as are used in mostconventional commercial refrigerator equipment. Support posts blockproduct view, and such posts and interconnecting shelf clips result inhigher cost and an inconvenience in repositioning such shelving.

The present invention provides a simplified and yet positive supportmeans at the rear of the shelf which simplifies adjustment proceduresand saves time when repositioning the shelves. It further provides ashelf unit for use in commercial refrigeration cabinet which has noposts or support brackets in the merchandising area or on the side wallsof the cabinet and therefore permits products to be loaded, withoutstructural interference, across the entire front of the merchandisearea.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention resides inproviding a per se novel rod and wire cantilevered shelf structure. Inconjunction with this object the invention also provides a supportpermitting rapid, easy adjustment or repositioning of the shelf.

A further object in connection with the preceding object resides inproviding such unit either as a vertical set of single or multipleshelves or as multiple sets of vertical shelves laterally arrangedwithin a refrigerating cabinet.

A still further object resides in the provision of cantilevered shelfand vertical support brackets which are secured to vertical supportstructure in spaced apart relationship, the cantilevered shelves beingconstructed of rod members with wire grill shelving having rigidintegral portions, which can be a heavy rear cross rod member, providinglateral outward trunnion-like projections at the rear upper edge of theshelf, the trunnion portions being hooked into notches formed alongrearwardly directed flanges of specially shaped channel type verticalsupport members. Truss-like support rod constructions, inclineddownwardly and laterally outward from the sides of the shelf unit,provides a level position abutment against the forward face of thevertical support members. Such support members can be doubled to providefor lateral sets of shelves.

Further novel features and other objects of this invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, discussion and theappended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A preferred structural embodiment of this invention is disclosed in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a preferred construction of a cantileveredshelf, made in accord with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates how the shelf may be raised by its front end andshifted slightly to the rear to enable repositioning at another heightwhere the rear trunnion projections fit into different pairs of slots ornotches in a pair of the vertical support members;

FIG. 5 is a partial view of a commercial refrigerator cabinet, partlybroken away to illustrate a vertical group of shelves securedcantilevered fashion on vertical support members which in turn aresecured to the back wall of the cabinet;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view illustrating one of the side rearconnection structures of the shelf which cooperates with a complementaryportion of a double vertical support member;

FIG. 7 is a side view of one of the vertical support members;

FIG. 8 is a section through a single vertical support member; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-section through a double vertical support member.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-4 show a preferred specific construction of a shelf unit 20including rear trunnion-like lateral projections 22 and 24 as well asabutment ends 26 and 28 situated under the trunnion portions, thetrunnion portions and abutment portions on each side cooperating withvertical bracket members 30 which are secured to a vertical wall 32,e.g., the rear wall of a refrigerator cabinet 33 (see FIG. 5).

The basic frame of each shelf unit 20 includes a solid circularcross-section rod 34 bent in a U-shape, the center 36 of which definesthe front edge of the shelf. The two side portions 38 and 40 extend at90° angles from the front portion 36 to the rear end or edge of theshelf unit at which location each side rod portion terminates in anupwardly bent portion, 42 and 44 respectively. Three lateral cross rods46, 48 and 50, extend between the side rod portions 38 and 40 and areintegrally fastened thereto as by welding to provide a rigid loadsupporting frame structure. A similar size solid cross rod 52, disposedabove the rear-most lateral cross rod 50, engages and is welded to thebent rear terminal end portions 42 and 44 of the side portions 38 and40. The rear cross rod terminal end portions project laterally from thebent up rear end portions 42 and 44 and provide the trunnion-likeportions 22 and 24 previously described. For additional strength thesolid cross rod 52 is rigidly fastened to lateral cross rod 50 by aplurality of small ball shaped metal spacers 54 welded between and toeach of the cross rods 50 and 52.

The shelf unit includes a second U-shaped heavy rod 58 locatedimmediately below and spaced from the afore-described perimetral rod 34.The forward half of the lower U-shaped rod 58 matches the shape of theforward half of the perimetral rod 34 and is rigidly secured thereto bymeans of ball-shaped metal spacers 60 welded as described forball-spacers 54 to provide an extremely rigid double rod shelf framewhich also provides a pleasing front end appearance as well as aconvenient mounting for conventional extruded product informationattachment strips 56 (FIG. 5). Clearly shown in FIG. 2, the rearportions 62 and 64 of the side members of the U-shaped lower rod 58 havea downward inclination of approximately 15° as well as a slight outwardinclination and terminate just forward of a vertical plane which istangent to the front surface of the cross rod 52 and perpendicular tothe plane of perimetral rod 34. The spacing of the terminal abutmentends from such a plane is theoretically equal to the thickness of thesheet metal from which the vertical support brackets are made.

Turning back to FIG. 1 the aforedescribed slight outward inclination ofthe lower rear rod portions 62 and 64 starts from approximately themid-point of the rod side members, the resultant configuration placingthe terminal ends of the two inclined portions 62 and 64 in lateralalignment and spaced below the trunnion-like end portions of the heavycross rod 52. Small vertical lengths of rod 66 and 68 are welded to anddepend from the underside of and spaced slightly forward from the rearends of each of the upper two side rod portions 38 and 40. These twoshort rods 66 and 68 terminate adjacent to the inner side of theinclined lower rod abutment portions 62 and 64 respectively and arerigidly secured thereto by welding resulting in a truss beamconstruction. The afore-described structure provides a rigid andpleasing planar shelf unit 20. An upper support surface can be made ofany suitable material, however, for refrigeration cabinet shelves it isconstructed of a plurality of small wire rods 70 spot welded to theshelf frame rods 36, 46, 48 and 50 to constitute a support surface inthe nature of an open grill to enable air circulation.

Shelf unit 20 is supported entirely at its rear end on two channelformed members 20 secured in vertical, laterally spaced apartrelationship on a flat surface such as the rear wall 32 of arefrigerator compartment. Attachment of the vertical members 30 to theflat surfaces may be by any mechanical fastening means such as, thumbscrew, cap screws or by use of a key slot fitted over rivet heads.

The details of construction of a vertical support are described withreference to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 wherein is illustrated a vertical bracket30 made from a single piece of sheet metal formed by bending into aspecial channel like configuration. The rear edge portion 74 is amounting flange which extends the length of support bracket 30 and isbent at a 90° angle to the mid-portion 76 which projects forwardly fromthe mounting flange 74. In a preferred construction, the forwardlyprojected flange portion 76 extends approximately 55 mm from themounting flange, at which location it is bent inwardly, parallel to andin the same direction as the flange 74, providing a narrow abutment 78,through a further 90° bend to terminate in an inwardly flange strip 80which extends approximately 12 mm perpendicular to the mounting flange74. Equally spaced apart along the inside flange 80 of the formedabutment channel are a plurality of notches or slots 82 locatedapproximately 25 mm apart. The slots 82 are shaped to receive thetrunnion projections 22 and 24 with a close free fit. A suitable numberof mounting holes or slots 84 are provided in the rear flange 74 toenable securing by appropriate conventional fastening means to a rearwall of a cabinet or other structure. In the refrigerator cabinetconstruction the area adjacent to the curve between the base flange andthe forwardly projecting flange can be faired and sealed with a sealingcomponent such as white silicone 86 to prevent entrapment of moisture orother material.

Each vertical set of mounted shelves include two vertical supportmembers 30 disposed in a right hand and left hand manner so that theslotted flanges 80 of the pair of support members face each other. Asapparent from FIG. 4, a shelf unit 20 can be placed into positionbetween the right and left support channels 30 by canting the shelf andplacing the two trunnion-like end portions 22 and 24 of the cross bar 52behind the slotted flanges 80. With the trunnion portions located at therear of the slotted flanges 80 the shelf is recanted so the cross bar 52is horizontal and the shelf 20 inclined inwardly, as depicted in FIG. 4,whereupon it can be raised or lowered to any desired location inincrements of approximately one inch (25 mm). At a desired heightposition, the shelf can be moved forward so the trunnion portions 22 and24 slip into a pair of associated slots 82 in the right and left supportmembers 30. When engaged in selected slots 82, shelf 20 can be permittedto pivot downwardly until the abutment ends 26 and 28 of the abutmentrods 62, 64 engage the channel abutment surfaces 78 of the associatedvertical support members 30. So situated, the planar shelf will behorizontal and its trunnion portions 22 and 24 will be faced forwardinto their respective slots as a result of the shelf being fulcrumedabout the two dependent abutments.

Viewing FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the vertical supportstructure illustrated on the right hand side of FIG. 5 is a doublechannel member, fabricated by joining two support members 30, see detailFIG. 9. The two support members 30 and 30' can be rigidly joined bymeans such as rivets 90 fastened through suitably disposed holes 92 andspacer sleeves 94. Again, fillet spacing at the base of the doublesupport channel can be filled with a sealing material such as whitesilicone. Using such dual channel vertical support members for theintermediate support members in a wide refrigerator cabinet 33 (FIG. 5)enables several sets of vertical groups of shelves 20 to be convenientlyassembled in close relationship without waste of cabinet space.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:
 1. Acantilevered shelf and support construction comprising: at least oneplanar shelf means, with means rigid with the upper rear of said shelfmeans providing a short lateral trunnion like projection extending fromadjacent each top rear corner of said shelf means and rearwardlydisposed abutment means depending from the sides of said planar shelfmeans to a location below said projections and in front of a planethrough the forward surface of said projections and perpendicular to theplanar shelf means; and at least a pair of parallel spaced apartvertically disposed elongate shelf support brackets secured to avertical surface, each bracket having a front laterally projectedportion facing and spaced forward from the vertical surface, the centralportion of said lateral portion providing an elongate vertical abutmentsurface for an associated one of said shelf abutment means, the lateralportions of said pair of brackets facing each other and having theirunder portions provided with a plurality of matched, spaced apart, openended slots opening toward and spaced from the vertical surface adistance greater than the cross-section dimension, in a fore and aftdirection, of said projections; said projections being received in amatched pair of said slots with said abutment means engaging associatedsaid abutment surfaces, the projections being maintained in the slots bythe downward force of said shelf means fulcrumed on said abutment means;whereby said shelf means can be repositioned by upward tilting andrearward shifting of said shelf means to remove the projections fromengagement with associated said slots and permitting verticalrepositioning of the shelf means to a different location.
 2. Theconstruction as defined in claim 1, wherein each said bracket is madefrom sheet metal bent to form a flat mounting flange with a forwardlyprojecting support web which continues with additional bends to providesaid lateral projected portion.
 3. The construction as defined in claim2, wherein said shelf means includes a U-shaped rod, said trunnion-likeprojections are end portions of a cross bar rigidly secured to the endsof said U-shaped rod with said end portions projected beyond the sidelegs of said U-shaped rod, and each said abutment means is a trussedbeam construction made from rods secured to the legs of said U-shapedrod.
 4. The construction as defined in claim 1, wherein said shelf meansis made from a U-shaped rod, said trunnion-like projections are endportions of a cross bar rigidly secured to the ends of said U-shaped rodwith said end portions projected beyond the side legs of said U-shapedrod.
 5. The construction as defined in claim 4, wherein a plurality ofspaced apart cross rods are rigidly secured between the legs of saidU-shaped rod and wherein a grid constituting a plurality of wire rodssecured to the top of said shelf rods provides a support surface forsaid shelf means.
 6. The construction as defined in claim 4, wherein asecond U-shaped rod is spaced below said first named U-shaped rod andmeans rigidly secure the front and side leg portions of both U-shapedrods to each other, the rear portions of said second U-shaped rod beingbent at a downward and slightly outward inclination and terminating inabutment ends and comprising said abutment means.
 7. The construction asdefined in claim 6, wherein short upright rods are rigidly securedbetween said rear portions and said legs of the first named U-shaped rodto provide a truss beam construction of said abutment means.
 8. Theconstruction as defined in claim 7, wherein the terminal ends of saidfirst named upper U-shaped rods are bent to form short upright lugs andsaid cross bar rests against and is rigidly secured to said uprightlugs.
 9. The construction as defined in claim 8, wherein at least onecross rod means rigidly joins the end portions of the side legs of saidfirst named U-shaped member and means rigidly join said cross bar andsaid cross rod means.
 10. The construction as defined in claim 1,wherein said shelf means comprises a rectangular arrangement of rodmeans with front, back and side rod portions, said trunnion-likeprojections are end portions of a cross bar rigidly secured to the rearpart of said side rod portion and to said back rod portion with the saidend portions of the cross bar projected beyond the side rod portions,and each said abutment means comprises a trussed beam construction madefrom rods including part of said side rod portions.
 11. The constructionas defined in claim 1, wherein said vertical surface is the rear wall ofa commercial refrigeration equipment cabinet, and a plurality of saidshelves are included on at least one pair of said shelf supportbrackets.
 12. A construction as defined in claim 11, wherein at leasttwo side-by-side sets of vertical shelves are provided and each set ofshelves include a pair of said shelf support brackets, the intermediatetwo shelf support brackets are constructed of two of said shelf supportbrackets disposed in complementary side-by-side disposition and means,rigidly join said two side-by-side support brackets.
 13. A constructionas defined in claim 1, wherein said abutment means depending from therear side edges of said planar shelf means have terminal abutmentportions disposed laterally outward from the sides of said shelf means;each laterally projected portion of each bracket comprising a frontchannel shaped portion, the channel facing and spaced forward from thevertical surface, the central portion of said channel providing saidelongate vertical abutment surface for an associated one of said shelfabutment means and the channel flange portions of said pair of bracketswhich face each other being provided with said plurality of matched,spaced apart, open ended slots.
 14. The construction as defined in claim13, wherein each said bracket is made from sheet metal bent to form aflat mounting flange with a forwardly projecting support web whichcontinues with additional bends to provide said channel shaped portion.15. The construction as defined in claim 14, wherein said shelf meansincludes a U-shaped rod, said trunnion-like projections are end portionsof a cross bar rigidly secured to the ends of said U-shaped rod withsaid end portions projected beyond the side legs of said U-shaped rod,and each said abutment means is trussed beam construction made from rodssecured to the legs of said U-shaped rod and the ends of rods constitutesaid terminal abutment portions.
 16. Shelf support bracket construction,for use with a planar shelf having a short lateral trunnion-likeprojections extending from adjacent each top rear corner of the shelfand abutments depending from the rear side edges of the shelf means anddisposed laterally outward from the sides of the shelf to a locationbelow the projections, comprising: an elongate shelf support bracketwith a flat base flange, at least two of which are used to support ashelf and are adapted to be secured in parallel spaced apart verticaldisposition to a vertical surface, each bracket having a front laterallyprojected portion facing and spaced forward from the vertical surface,the central portion of said lateral portion providing an elongatevertical abutment surface for an associated one of the shelf abutmentmeans, the lateral portions of said bracket having its under portionprovided with a plurality of spaced apart, open ended slots openingtoward and spaced from said flat flange a distance greater than thecross-section dimension, in a fore and aft direction, of the shelfprojection.
 17. The construction as defined in claim 16, wherein eachsaid bracket is made from sheet metal bent to form a flat mountingflange with a forwardly projecting support web which continues withadditional bends to provide said lateral projected portion.
 18. Theconstruction as defined in claim 16, wherein a combination two shelfsupport bracket is constructed of two of said shelf support bracketsdisposed in complementary side-by-side disposition and means, rigidlyjoin said two side-by-side support brackets.
 19. The construction asdefined in claim 18, wherein each said bracket is made from sheet metalbent to form a flat mounting flange with a forwardly projecting supportweb which continues with additional bends to provide said lateralprojected portion, and said support webs are adjacent and parallel toone another and the means which rigidly secure said brackets are securedto said support webs.
 20. The construction as defined in claim 4,wherein the terminal ends of said U-shaped rod are bent to form shortupright lugs and said cross bar rests against the front of said uprightlugs.